Wire drawing machine



C. L. TAYLOR WIRE DRAWING MACHINE Filed sept 25, 1959 Aug. 13, 1940.

iN W 25W 26- Ll *n F' .J 45 44 mmf j? M ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 13, 1940l UNITED S'l'A'I'lS PATENT- `OFFICE 2,211,392 l WIRE DRAWING MACHINE Application September 25, 1939, Serial No. 296,332

4 claims.

This invention relates to wire vdrawing ma chines and moreparticularly to apparatus'for cooling the blocks or drums of wire 'drawing o l portance as it is desirable to dissipate a great deal of heat from the wire in a very short time. It is therefore a general object of my invention to provide a simple and eilicient means for rapidly carrying awayor dissipating the heat of the i wire in a wire drawing machine.

Another object of my invention is to provide a block or drumfor wire drawing machines which can be adequately cooled by large quantitles of water flowing against the internal surl face of the drum in the region where the Wire is wound. Another object is to provide a block or drum so designed that the cooling water supplied thereto can be discharged rapidly and without leakage or splashing. A further object i is to provide such a block or drum in which packing glands or similar devices are eliminated.

Briey I accomplish the above and other objects by providing a block or drum with a hollow interior arranged with one or more nozzles 'disposed within the interior to discharge water against the internal wall of the cylindrical surface upon which the Wire is wound as it leaves the die of the machine. The water flowing off the interior surface is caught in, a stationary water box disposed beneath the drum and arranged with a volute passage increasing in crosssectional area tothe point of discharge of the Water so that the rotating drum acts somewhat in the manner of the impeller of a centrifugal pump, and whereby large quantities of water can be discharged from the Water pump by the centrifugal action of the rotating drum all without splashing or leakage of the water from the joint between the drum and the water box.

Referring tothe drawing, Figure 1 is an endv view partially in section showing a block or drum made according to my invention; Figure 2 is a section taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a development as indicated by the line 3-3 on Figure 2 showing the sloping floor of the discharge passageway of the .water box; and Figure 4 is a fragmentary detail on an enlarged scale illustrating adjacent portions of the drum and the water box.

As shown in Figure 1 a Wire drawing machine made according to my invention may comprise a bench l0 which may be built up into a box section having a top portion ll. 'A block or drum l2 is supported for rotation above the top of vthe. bench and may be of a'ny desired construction, 5 the type shown being adapted particularly to the continuous wire drawing machine disclosed in the copending application of Jerome R. George and Kenneth B. Lewis led June 28, 1939, Serial No. 281,666. The drum may be mountedupon lo any-desired type of bearing such as the bearings I4 and l5 supported bythe bearing housing I6 which in turn is mounted in an opening on the topfmember Il of the bench l0. The drum l2 may be driven by the vertical shaft I9 having R5 the bevel gear keyed thereto which is engaged by the gear 2l mounted on the drive shaft 22. It will be understood that the details of the drum and the driving mechanism therefor may be varied widely. These particular features form 80 no part of the present invention.

The wire W after passing through the die is wound tightly upon the cylindrical portion 26 yof the drum I2, the wire beingdrawn through a die by frictional engagement between this por- 25 tion, of the drum and the wire. As the drawing operation progresses the convolutions of the wire slide upwardly along the taperedportion 2l of the drum and then'are supported loosely by the psts 28. Inasmuch as the best contact between 30 the wire and the drum takes place in the cylindrical portion 26 it is desirable to concentrate the cooling action in this-region. To accomplish effective cooling of this portion of the drum and thereby cool the wire, water or other cooling fluid isdirected against `the inner surface 29 of the drum from the spray nozzles 30; Water is preferably supplied to the nozzles 30 through the risers 3l and the ring shaped conduit 32, welded as indicated at 33, to the conical portion 34 of the support I6, and supplied with water or other cooling uid through the pipe 35 connected to a suitable supply source. Preferably the nozzles are arranged, as shown, to discharge somewhat in the direction of rotation of the drum, indicated by the arrow in Fig, 2. l

In order to make it possible to employ a large quantity of cooling fluid and effectively to discharge the cooling fluid without, any leakage or splashing, the conical portion 34 of the bearing 50 housing I6 slopes downwardly and outwardly and merges into an annular surface 4| vwhich communicates with the volute channel 42. vAs .shown in Figures 1 and 2 the channel 42 gradually increases in cross-sectional area in. the

direction of rotation of the drum terminating in discharge port 43 which communicates with a pipe 44 leading to any suitable drain. Not only does the width of the volute channel increase but, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the depth increases and the bottom 45 slopes toward the discharge port 44. This construction aids in the discharge of cooling fluid from the machine and insures that the machine will be completely drained of all cooling fluid whenever the cooling iluid is shut off.

In operation the cooling uid is discharged against the internal cylindrical surface 29. Because of the rotation of the drum the fluid falls downwardly and .outwardly from the surface 29 against the surfaces 34 and 4I and then travels between the downwardly extending ilange 46 and the surface 4I into the discharge channel 42. The rotation of the drum causes the water to be thrown tangentlally outwardly toward the outer wall 41 of the passage 42.V Preferably the flange 48 of the drum extends below the adjacent lip 49 of the bearing housing and the flange is preferably provided with one or more annular grooves 50 having radially extending Walls 5I and upwardly and inwardly extending walls 52. This arrangement prevents the cooling fluid from leaking or splashing out of the. small opening between the angev 48 and the lipv 49 and thus there is no possibility of the cooling fluid coming directly in contact-with the wire. Because of the form of the passage 42 a large quantity of water can be discharged therethrough, the water flowing smoothly through the channel and out through the discharge 43, port and pipe 44 to the drain, the flow being assisted by the downward inclination of the bottom 44 of the channel.

By my arrangement large quantities of water =can be discharged against the interior of the block or drum in the region where the wire is at its maximum temperature. The wire, therefore, will be effectively cooled, thus making possible higher drawing speeds and' more efficient operation of the drawing machine. By the coning or leakage. Thus there is no danger of the hot wire coming into direct contact with the cooling fluid. Furthermore with my type of water box the cooling fluid is automatically and completely drained from the water box whenever the supply of cooling fluid is shut off.

My apparatus for cooling the blocks or drums of wire drawing machines can readily be adapted to wire drawing machines of various types without requiring any vital changes in the designs of the machines.- The apparatus can be constructed economically and is simple and sturdy and will operate -without attention for long periods of time.

l In the foregoing specication, I have described a preferred form of my invention as applied to one particular type of wire drawing machine. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications can be made therein. Therefore it is to be understood that my patent is not limited to the preferred form described herein or in any manner other than by the scope of the appended claims when given the range of equivalents to which my patent may be entitled.

I claim:

l. In a wire drawing machine a hollow block having a portion on which the wire is wound after it is drawn through a die of the machine, means for rotating the block, means for directing a stream of cooling fluid against the inner surface of said block and a water box for carrying away the Water discharged against the inner surface of the block, said water box having a channel disposed adjacent the base of the block. the cross-sectional area of said channel gradually increasing in the direction of discharge of the water and in the direction of rotation of the drum.

2. In a wire drawing machine a hollow block having a portion on which the wire is wound after it is drawn through a die of the machine, means for rotating the block, means for directing a stream of cooling fluid against the inner surface of said block and a water box for carrying away the water discharged against the inside surface of the block, said Water box having a channel disposed adjacent the base of the block, the cross-sectional area of said channel gradually increasing in the direction of discharge of the Water and in the direction of rotation of the drum and the bottom of said channel sloping toward the point of discharge,

3. In a wire drawing machine a block on which the wire is wound after it passes through the die, means for discharging a cooling fluid against the inside surface of said block while said block is rotating, said block having a downwardly extending flange and means for carrying away the cooling fluid comprising a water box having a circular lip disposed adjacent the upper part of said flange on said drum and having a channel for carrying away the cooling fluid i lrotating, said block having a downwardly ex- 

